Humor in Chronic Illness with DoodleThru Creators Mike & Jill Brook

In this episode, Mike and Jill Brook discuss their creation, DoodleThru, a webcomic designed to find humor in the struggles of living with chronic illnesses like POTS, MCAS, and related conditions. They share how humor became a therapeutic outlet for Jill, who faced long diagnostic delays and ineffective treatments. The conversation highlights their process of converting Jill's ideas into cartoons that humorously capture the absurdities and challenges of living with these conditions. Despite lacking formal artistic skills, the couple used this creative project to cope, engage the chronic illness community, and even educate about these complex conditions. They emphasize humor's power in improving mental outlook and community support. Through cartoons, they explored themes like the mysteries of dysautonomia, unique patient challenges, and empathetic insights for caregivers. Jill reflects positively on DoodleThru's impact on her mental health and encourages others to find humor when navigating their health journeys.